Thursday, April 7, 2016

5 x 12 = 60

Here is the third of twelve sock
patterns in my journey of 60 stitches. The featured stitch pattern has a
5-stitch repeat. So, 12 repeats equals 60 stitches total. I’m using a simple
lace pattern from Susanna Lewis’s book, Knitting Lace. It’s pattern #41. This
book is true gem. It was originally published by Tauton Press, but is currently
available through Schoolhouse Press.

The yarn I used was a gift from one
of the students who took my workshop at last year’s Panoply 2015, Ontario
Handweavers and Spinners Biennial Conference. It’s a Plymouth Yarn, “Happy Feet”, which comes in 50 g skeins, approximately 192 yards per
skein. I used two skeins of color # 6. This yarn is 90% superwash Merino wool
and 10% nylon. I got my gauge (7 ½ sts per inch, 11 rounds per inch) using US
size 1 (2.25 mm) needles in the lace pattern (as described in the Leg section below).

When I was first given this yarn, I
liked the colors just “ok”, but as I’ve worked with the yarn, I’ve grown quite
fond of the colors. It’s such a pleasure to fall deeper in love with a yarn.

Cuff:

Loosely CO 60 sts. I used a long
tail cast on, with US size 3 (3.25 mm), then changed to US size 1 (2.25mm) for
the sock. I used a set of 4 double pointed needles and distributed the stitches
so that there were 20 sts on Needle 1, 20 sts on Needle 2, and 20 sts on Needle
3.

Work these 4 rounds until sock
measures ~6 ½ inches, end having finished a Round 4.

Heel
Flap:

Knit the first 15 stitches on Needle
1. Place the next 30 sts onto 2 needles. Slip the last 15 stitches from Needle
3 onto Needle 1. The heel flap is worked flat on the 30 sts on Needle 1. The 30
sts on the other 2 needles constitute the instep.

Row 1 (WS): sl1, purl to end.

Row 2: *s1, k1; rep from * to end.

Repeat Rows 1 & 2 until heel
flap is approximately 2 inches long, end having finished a Row 1.

Heel
Turn:

The
turned heel is made up of “short rows” with decreases. This process shapes the
heel. As a result, for each row you will work a different number of stitches,
and you will end up with fewer total stitches than you started with.

Row 1 (RS): sl1, k16, ssk, k1, turn work.

Row 2: sl1, p5, p2tog, p1, turn
work.

Row 3: sl1, k to 1 st before “gap”, ssk, K1, turn work.

Row 4:
sl1, p to 1 st before “gap”, p2tog, P1, turn work.

Repeat
rows 3 and 4 until 18 sts remain, having finished a row 4.

Next row:
sl1, knit across.

Gusset:

Pick up and knit 18 sts along the right side of
the heel flap. To do this, insert right needle under the first edge stitch
(under both strands of the stitch), wrap the working yarn around the needle,
and pull a stitch through (one stitch has now been picked up and knitted). Repeat
this process until 18 stitches have been picked up.

Slip the following 30 sts onto one needle. These
stitches constitute the instep of the sock. Work these 30 sts following Round 1
of the instep pattern (see below).

Pick up and knit 18 sts along the left side of
the heel flap.

Onto this same needle, knit the next 9 stitches
(from the remaining heel stitches). Slip the remaining 9 heel stitches onto
Needle 1 (with the right side gusset).

You now have 27 sts on Needle 1, 30 sts on
Needle 2, and 27 sts on Needle 3. The middle of the heel falls between Needle 3
and Needle 1. Consider this point to be the beginning of the round.

After completing all the gusset decreases, cont
working even, and cont repeating the instep pattern for as long as you want. I
worked the instep pattern all the way to the beginning of the toe. Then I
continued in st st.

Toe:

The toe is 28 Rounds total.

This toe is shaped so that it
gradually narrows. To achieve this effect, you will work a “Decrease Round”
more frequently as the toe progresses.

At this point, there will be 4 sts
on Needle 1, 8 sts on Needle 2, and 4 sts on Needle 3. Now, knit the next 4 sts
onto Needle 3, leaving 8 sts on Needle 2 and 8 sts on Needle 3.

Graft the toe using the Kitchener stitch:

Cut the working yarn, leaving a 20
inch or longer tail. Thread this tail through a darning needle. Orient the sock
so that the 2 needles are horizontal, the instep side of the sock is facing
you, and the working yarn is coming off the right side of the needle in the
back.

Step 1:Insert darning needle into the first stitch on
the front needle as if to knit, pull the yarn through and slip this stitch off
the needle. Insert darning needle into the next stitch on the front needle as
if to purl, pull the yarn through and leave this stitch on the needle.

Step 2:Insert darning needle into the first stitch on
the back needle as if to purl, pull the yarn through and slip this stitch off
the needle. Insert darning needle into the next stitch on the back needle as if
to knit, pull the yarn through and leave this stitch on the needle.

Repeat Steps 1 and 2 until all
stitches have been worked and slipped off the needles.